End section for an airport jetty

ABSTRACT

AN END SECTION FOR AN AIRPORT JETTY, ADAPTED TO ENGAGE WITH THE FUSELAGE OF AN AIRCRAFT, SAID END SECTION HAVING SIDE ELEMENTS PIVOTABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER ABOUT AN AXIS VIRTUALLY COINCIDING WITH THE FORWARD LOWER EDGE OF THE SECTION, AND A ROOF SUPPORTED BY SAID SIDE ELEMENTS TO BE MOVED ALONG WITH THEIR PIVOTING MOVEMENTS, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE ROOF CONSISTS OF A REARWARD PLATE MEMBER SLIDABLY SECURED TO THE END OF EACH OF SAID SIDE ELEMENTS, AND A FORWARD ROVKING MEMBER PIVOTED TO SAID PLATE MEMBER, SAID ROCKING MEMBER COMPRISING THE FORWARD UPPER EDGE OF THE END SECTION, THE ENDS OF SAID FORWARD EDGE BEING FLEXIBLY SECURED TO SAID SIDE ELEMENTS.

J1me 1971 N. G. J. w. VAN MARLE END SECTION FOR AN AIRPORT JETTY 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 23, 1969 WW? h INVENTOR mcnums ewnuus Jag: mumVAN MHRLE 4 4% ATTORN Y5 J1m 1971 N. G. J. w. VAN MARLE 3,533,934

END SECTION FOR AN AIRPORT JETTY Filed May 23, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR NHIULHH$ GRHDUS JAN UNLLEMVAN MAPLE ATTORNEYS June 29, 1971 N.ca. J. w. VAN MARLE 3,588,934

END SECTION FOR AN AIRPORT JETTY I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 23, 1969INVENTOR N\CULHHS GRHDUS {9R}! \LHLLEM VANMHRLE ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent Ofiice US. Cl. 14-71 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An endsection for an airport jetty, adapted to engage with the fuselage of anaircraft, said end section having side elements pivotable independentlyof each other about an axis virtually coinciding with the forward loweredge of the section, and a roof supported by said side elements to bemoved along with their pivoting movements, characterized in that theroof consists of a rearward plate member slidably secured to the end ofeach of said side elements, and a forward rocking member pivoted to saidplate member, said rocking member comprising the forward upper edge ofthe end section, the ends of said forward edge being flexibly secured tosaid side elements.

This invention relates to an end section for an airport jetty, adaptedto engage with the fuselage of an aircraft, said end section having sideelements pivotable independently of each other about an axis virtuallycoinciding with the forward lower edge of the section, and a roofsupported by said side elements to be moved along with their pivotingmovements, hereinafter referred to as an end section of the kinddescribed.

Such an end section is disclosed in our co-pending application Ser. No.691,876 filed Dec. 19, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,484,883.

In the prior arrangement, use is made of considerable quantities offlexible fabric or the like, which may be objectionable if a largestroke of the deformable end section is required, while such fabric hasa limited service life.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a deformable endsection for an airport jetty, which re quires a minimum amount offabric.

According to the invention, there is provided an end section of the kinddescribed, wherein the roof consists of a rearward plate member slidablysecured to the end of each of said side elements, and a forward rockingmember pivoted to said plate member, said rocking member comprising theforward upper edge of the end section, the ends of said forward edgebeing flexibly secured to the side elements.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 isa cross-sectional view on the vertical median plane of the end sectionaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the movableparts in an extended position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the end section shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 3, but showing an extendedposition as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line VV of FIG. 3, showing the connectionbetween a side element and the roof of the end section;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sections on the line VII-VII of FIG. 3, showing theconnection of the rocking member with a side element.

3,588,934 Patented June 29, 1971 Referring to the drawings, mounted onan airport jetty 1 is a tubular end section 2, having four fixedlyinterconnected walls 3, 4, 5, and 6, and side elements 9 and 10 mountedon the bottom wall for pivoting movement about an axis 8 substantiallycoinciding with the lower edge 7. The side elements can be pivoted byhydraulic jacks 12, shown for the side element 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, andenergized in some conventional manner or other. The upper wall or roof13 consists of a rearward roof section 14 and a forward rocking member15. The roof section 14 is slidingly connected with the side elements 9and 10 by means of a plurality of rollers 16, spaced along an arc of acircle having its centre in the pivot axis 8, and cooperating with achannel-shaped side member 17 of the roof section 14 (FIG. 5 and 6). Theside member 17 is provided with strips 18 engaging in grooves 19 of therollers 16.

The rocking member is pivoted to the roof section 14 by means of a pivot20 provided in the pointed front 21 of the roof section 14. Furthermorethe rocking member 15 is flexibly coupled at the ends of its forwardportion 22 with the side elements 10 (FIGS. 7 and 8) by means of a balljoint 23 comprising a ball connected to the rocking member 15 through astrip 25 and a cylindrical sleeve 26 connected at right angles to theside element 10. The ball 24 is capable of both rotation and translationin the sleeve 26, which makes it possible for the rocking member to bemoved from the position of FIG. 7 to that of FIG. 8 and vice versa. Theforward edge 22 of the rocking member 15, the forward edge 7 of thebottom 3, and the forward edges of the side elements 9 and 10 arecovered with soft, resilient shapes (not shown), for example of foamrubber to provide for proper wind-tight connection with the fuselage ofan aircraft.

The operation of the end section according to the invention is asfollows.

After the end section has been brought closely to the doorway of anaircraft, the hydraulic jacks 12 are energized to move the side elements9 and 10 forwardly, taking along the rocking member 15, through the balljoints 23, into engagement With the fuselage of the aircraft. Since theside elements 9 and 10 can move independently of each other, the rockingmember can adapt itself to the contour of the fuselage. During thismovement, the roof section 14 is slidingly taken along relative to theside elements 9 and 10, through the pivot 20; the velocity at which thismovement is performed is the average of the velocities of the sideselements 9 and 10 at their upper ends.

Except for possible sealing of mutually moving fixed parts, the endsection according to the invention requires no weather-proofing by meansof flexible fabric, such as, for example, accordion-type bellows, byvirtue of which the end section according to the invention has a greaterrange of deformation, and maintenance and replacement of parts isminimized.

I claim:

1. An end section for an airport jetty to engage with the fuselage of anaircraft, said end section comprising a pair of side elements (9, 10)and a roof (13) supported by said side elements and movable therewith,pivot means (8, 8) on lower ends of said side elements for independentlypivotally connecting respective ones of said side elements to saidjetty, said roof comprising a rearward roof section (14) and a forwardrocking member (15), means for slidably supporting said rearward roofsection on the upper end of each of said side elements (9, 10), pivotmeans (20) pivotally mounting said forward rocking member (15) on saidroof section (14), and coupling means (23) flexibly coupling saidforward rocking member to the upper forward edge portions of said sideelements.

2. An end section as in claim 1 wherein said roof section (14) has apointed front section (21), and said pivot means (20) is located at saidpointed front section.

3. An end section as in claim 2 wherein said coupling means (23) arecomprised of a ball joint means including a cylindrical sleeve (26)having its axis normal to said side elements and ball means (24) mountedin said sleeve for pivotal and axial movement relative to said sleeve.

4. An end section as in claim 3 wherein said rearward roof sectionincludes channel-shaped side members (17) of arcuate configuration withthe centre of curvature being located in the axis of the pivot means (8,8) on lower ends of said side elements (9, 10), and roller means (16)carried by said side elements and cooperating with said channel-shapedside members.

5. An end section as in claim 4 wherein said roller means 16) arecomprised of rollers having circumferential grooves formed therein forcooperating with edge portions of said channel-shaped side members (17).

6. An end section as in claim 1 wherein said coupling means (23) arecomprised of a ball joint means including a cylindrical sleeve (26)having its axis normal to said side elements and ball means (24) mountedin said sleeve for pivotal and axial movement relative to said sleeve.

7. An end section as in claim 1 wherein said rearward roof sectionincludes channel-shaped side members (17) of arcuate configuration withthe centre of curvature being located in the axis of the pivot means (8,8) on lower ends of said side elements (9, 10), and a roller means (16)carried by said side elements and cooperating with said side members.

8. An end section as in claim 2 wherein said rearward roof sectionincludes channel-shaped side members 17) of arcuate configuration withthe centre of curvature being located in the axis of the pivot means (8,8) on lower ends of said side elements (9, 10), and roller means (16)carried by said side elements and cooperating with said side members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,121,243 2/1964 Phillips l4-7l3,184,772 5/1965 Moore 147l 3,479,677 11/1969 Burns 1471 3,484,88312/1969 Van Marle l471 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner

